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Media playback is one of the areas where the Tab S really excels, thanks mainly to the gorgeous screen that we've already referred to.
Settle down to a high-definition YouTube clip or two and the display really shines in its crispness, vibrancy and colour. I could probably have stayed watching House of Cards all day if I didn't have a review to write.
The speakers on either side of the Tab S do a decent job of pumping out your music and movie audio. They won't win any industry awards in the near future for deep, rich bass but they created a better sound than I expected considering the svelte design of the tablet.
If you're watching a film in a hotel room or listening to your tunes in the park then they're fine.
The sound they produce doesn't have much body or depth to it, probably much like the speakers integrated in your laptop.
They're fine for movie dialogue and deliver good performance at high volume, but you're going to miss a bass line or two when you switch over to your music streaming service of choice.
The usual Samsung apps for music and video are here of course. If you haven't come across them before then they're functional apps that essentially let you browse through media file thumbnails on your device and then play them.
Together with the My Files app they make accessing content quick and easy, and certainly more straightforward than it is on stock Android where photos and videos are jumbled together into one app.
A lock screen widget is included for the music player but oddly there's no home screen widget. The video player offers a clever picture-in-picture option so you can keep your eyes on Family Guy while checking Twitter or tapping out an email. As for how useful this actually is in practice, see my earlier thoughts on multi-tasking.
Gaming performance is smooth and lag-free, whether you're working your way through a run-of-the-mill puzzler or tackling something a bit more strenuous.
Again, the Tab S display really shines with the most visually intense games — a quick 10 minutes on Asphalt 8 flew by and only knocked down the battery level 3% (and that's with Wi-Fi and sync on in the background).
Get a good quality game or high-definition movie up on the Tab S and you soon forget about its shortcomings.
